Understanding IT3(d)
What is IT3(d)?
IT3(d) is a mandatory third-party data submission for approved Section 18A tax-exempt entities, such as PBOs, that issue tax-deductible receipts to donors. It involves submitting the details of those receipts to SARS, helping SARS pre-populate donor tax returns, verify donation claims, and reduce the risk of incorrect or fraudulent tax deductions.
Do I have to submit IT3(d)?
You only have to submit IT3(d) if your organisation is approved to issue Section 18A receipts. If your organisation issued Section 18A tax-deductible receipts during the reporting period, the receipt data must be submitted to SARS through IT3(d). If no Section 18A receipts were issued for the period, SARS requires a Null Declaration instead.
Why is IT3(d) important?
IT3(d) is important because it forms part of your organisation’s Section 18A compliance. If your organisation is approved to issue Section 18A receipts, SARS expects the receipt data to be submitted correctly. Missed or incorrect IT3(d) submissions can put your organisation’s compliance position at risk, including its ability to keep issuing Section 18A receipts.
For donors, IT3(d) is important because SARS uses the submitted data to help verify their tax-deductible donation claims. If the data is missing or incorrect, donors may face delays, verification checks, or problems claiming the deduction linked to their donation.
How does IT3(d) relate to Section 18A?
IT3(d) is directly linked to Section 18A because it reports the details of the Section 18A receipts your organisation has issued to donors.
The IT3(d) submission contains details from the Section 18A receipts themselves, including donor information, donation amounts, and donation types.
In simple terms: Section 18A is the receipt issued to the donor. IT3(d) is the reporting of that receipt information to SARS.
What information is needed for IT3(d)?
IT3(d) requires the information contained in the Section 18A receipts issued to donors.
This includes:
Reporting entity details: The name, tax number, and contact details of the Section 18A-approved organisation.
Donor information: The donor’s full name or registered name, identification number, registration number, tax number, and contact details where applicable.
Donation details: The donation amount or value, date of donation, type or nature of donation, and the unique Section 18A receipt number.
Receipt details: The Section 18A receipt date and the information needed to link the receipt back to the donor and donation.
Nil declaration: If no Section 18A receipts were issued during the reporting period, a nil declaration must still be submitted through eFiling.
When is IT3(d) due?
There are two main IT3(d) submission periods. Both submission periods are mandatory for approved Section 18A organisations, even if no Section 18A receipts were issued during the period.
Bi-annual submission: Due by 31 October, covering Section 18A receipts issued from 1 March to 31 August.
Annual submission: Due by 31 May, covering the full year of assessment from 1 March to the last day of February.
Because IT3(d) is based on Section 18A receipts issued during these periods, NPOs need to keep receipt and donor information updated throughout the year, not only when the deadline arrives.
How to submit IT3(d)
There are three ways to submit IT3(d), and all submissions must be made electronically. The correct submission method depends on the number of Section 18A receipt records your organisation needs to report.
If your organisation has 50 or fewer IT3(d) records, you must submit through SARS eFiling.
If your organisation has more than 50 records and the file is within the HTTPS limit, you must submit through the HTTPS bulk data channel. SARS describes this channel as allowing up to 50 000 lines or 10MB of data.
If the submission exceeds the HTTPS limit, Connect Direct applies. This is a more technical bulk submission channel and is usually handled by organisations or service providers with the correct SARS setup and technical process in place.
The IT3(d) data must also be formally declared after submission. For IT3 submissions, this is done through the IT3-02 declaration on eFiling. The submission is not complete until the declaration has been submitted.
For a detailed step-by-step guide, use the relevant article below:
SARS eFiling · HTTPS · Connect Direct
What happens if you don’t submit IT3(d)?
If you don’t submit IT3(d), your organisation has not completed its required third-party data reporting for the Section 18A receipts issued during that period.
This can leave your organisation exposed to SARS compliance action, penalties, a non-compliant tax status, and questions around its Section 18A reporting. In serious cases, unresolved compliance failures can place the organisation’s PBO and Section 18A status at risk.
It can also affect donors. If the IT3(d) data is not submitted, SARS may not have the donation information needed to support the donor’s Section 18A tax deduction claim, which can lead to delays, verification checks, or the deduction not being processed correctly.
The submission is also not complete by only sending the data file. SARS’ guides show that third-party data must be submitted and then formally declared through the relevant declaration return on eFiling. For IT3 submissions, this is the IT3-02 declaration.
What happens if your IT3(d) information is incorrect?
Incorrect IT3(d) data can be corrected, but the correction must follow the process linked to the original submission method.
For eFiling submissions, corrections are made through the Request Tax Transactions function. This allows the organisation to amend or remove data that was submitted on the IT3-01 form. The user selects the relevant IT3(d) certificate, chooses whether the record must be corrected or deleted, updates the information, and submits the correction.
For HTTPS or Connect Direct submissions, the corrected data must be submitted again through the relevant secure channel.
After the correction is submitted, the IT3-02 declaration must also be checked. If the corrected data changes the figures or summary information on the IT3-02, the declaration must reflect the corrected information before it is submitted or re-submitted. The IT3-02 is the declaration that confirms the submitted IT3 data, so the correction process should not stop at fixing the IT3-01 data or replacing the file.
If the submitted data is inaccurate, the organisation or third-party data provider should contact the SARS Third Party Data Unit and follow the required guidance before resubmitting amended data. SARS’ guide also notes that once data is resubmitted, the system usually takes 24–48 hours to reflect the updated changes.
How to prepare for IT3(d)?
To prepare for IT3(d), your organisation needs to keep its Section 18A receipt information complete, accurate, and ready for the relevant SARS submission periods.
For the bi-annual submission, the organisation must report all Section 18A receipts issued from 1 March to 31 August of the current reporting year. This is the first six-month reporting period and is usually submitted between 1 September and 31 October. The latest due date is 31 October. SARS confirms the bi-annual period as 1 March to 31 August, due by 31 October, and its third-party data page states that bi-annual third-party data is submitted between 1 September and 31 October.
For the annual submission, the organisation must report the full year of assessment, from 1 March to the last day of February. For example, the 2026 annual submission covers donations received from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026, with the submission window running from 1 April 2026 to 31 May 2026.
The annual submission is not only the second half of the year. It covers the full year again, which means it includes the first six months already reported in the bi-annual submission, together with the remaining six months of Section 18A receipt data.
To prepare properly, make sure your reporting entity details, donor information, donation details, Section 18A receipt numbers, and receipt dates are correct before the submission period opens.
Your eFiling access should also be ready. This includes having the correct registered representative updated, the IT3 tax type activated, and access to the Third Party Data section on the organisation’s eFiling profile.
It also helps to review the data before submission so that missing donor details, duplicate receipt numbers, incorrect donation amounts, or mismatched Section 18A records can be corrected early.
You should also know which submission method applies before the deadline arrives, based on whether the organisation must submit through SARS eFiling, HTTPS, or Connect Direct.